Laundry apparatus



June 22, 1943. s, R. BAIRD 2,322,559

LAUNDRY APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 1 ITNES S: l VENTOR`Fune 22, 1943. s. R. BAIRD 2,322,559

LAUNDRY AAPPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1940 2 sheetsfs'het 2 ATTORN PatentedJune 22, 1943 v LAUNDRY' APPARATUS stuart n. Baird, Marianela, ohio,assigner to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Comllny, EastPittsburgh,

Pennsylvania VPu.. a corporation of Application January a4, 1940, serialNo. 315,371

- Y1 claim. (ci. ss-24 My invention relates to laundry apparatus and hasfor an object to provide improved apparatus of this kind.

A further object of the'invention is to provide improved means forintroducing washing water to the receptacle of a laundry machine. l

It is 'a further object of my invention to provide improved means forspray rinsing fabrics as they are moved within the basket of the laundrymachine.

It is a further object of the invention to employ water directed at highvelocity into contact with the inner surface of the perforate basket ofa washer for cleansing the basket and the tub enclosing the same.

'Ihese and other objects are effected by my invention as will beapparent from the following description and claims taken in accordancewith the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through awashing machine constructcd and arranged in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a frontview of the tub structure shown in Fig. 1, the outercasing for the same being removed and portions of the tub 4structurebeing broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of Fig. 1 showing myimproved water-admitting means; and,

Fig. 4 isv a sectional View taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3. d

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown my invention appliedto a laundry machine of the type disclosed and claimed in the copendingapplication of Frank Breckenridge, Serial No. 203,804, filed April 23,1938, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Thismachine is of the inclined4 axis type but it will be understood that myinvention isgnot I to be limited to this particular type but isapplicable also to other forms of washing apparatus having the axisotherwise disposed.

The washer includes a tub structure I0, generally of frusto-conlcalconfiguration and having when, closed, it defines a substantiallywatertight seal for the opening |2.l

Disposed within the tub structure Il is a basket Il also offrusto-conical configuration and closely following the lines of the tubI0, said basket being coaxially disposed within the tub.

The basket includes an access opening I5 formed in. an end wall I6thereof, said access opening I! being in registry with the accessopening of the tub |2. axis during washing periods at relatively lowspeeds and, during centrifuging periods, at relatively high speed bymeans of a motor The latter is belted, as shown at I8, to the drivingpulley I9 of a two-speed mechanism, generally Shown at 2|. carried bythe tub structure I0 and'includes a driven member 22 which is ilxed tothe basket.

iioth the motor I| and the two-speed mechanirm `2l are carried by thetub structure I0 in any well understood manner. mechanism 2| forms nopart of the present invention so that it will not be described indetail, other than to say that it is adjustable so that the drivenmember 22 thereof is rotated at a relatively low speed of approximately52 R. P. M. during washing periods and at a relatively high speed of,for example, 480 R. P. M. during centrifuging periods. A suitabletwo-speed mechanism of the type shown at 2| `is described and claimed incombination with a tub structure Iin the copending application of FrankBreckenridge, Serial No. 305,512, filed November 21, 1939 and assignedto the assignee of the present application.

Washing water is admitted to the tub from a suitable source through aconduit 23, the discharge end 24 of which is provided with awaterprojectingv device, generally indicated at 25 and constructed andarranged inv accordance with my invention. Further reference to theconstruction and operation of the water-admission means, including thedevice 25, will be made hereinafter. Vitiated` washing water isdischarged from the tub I0 through an opening 26 formed in the bottomthereof, which opening A communicates by means of a conduit 2`| with theits axis inclined so that the end of the tub structure of major diameterfaces upwardly and forwardly. The tub I0 includes an end -wall inlet 28fof a pump 29, preferably carried by and driven by the motor l1. Flow ofwater from the discharge opening 26 to the inlet of the pump 29 may becontrolled by a suitable valve, such as, for example, anelectrically-operated valve 3|. The water translated by the pump isdischarged by a conduit 32 to a point of discharge.

The basket structure Il is provided i'nteriorly 'I'he basket isrotatable about its The two-speed mechanism 2| is l The two-speedfabrics.

of maximum diameter.

with means for agitating the fabrics in the body lof washing fluidduring washing periods. As

the -soils from the fabrics. 'I'he level of the water within the tubstructure is indicated by the broken line A. During washing periods.,the

vvanes 33 elevate the fabrics to an upper region of the basket as thelatter is rotated. The vanes 33 become more and more inclined as theyapproach the upper region of the basket because of the inclination ofthe axis of the frusta-conical basket so that the fabrics slide from theinclined vane toward the end wall of the basket of minor diameter which,as shown, is extended inwardly of the basket to dene a dome 34. Thefabrics, gliding from the vane 33, are deposited upon the dome 34 andthen glide downwardly over the dome and launch into the body of washingwater. The

forward motion imparted to the fabrics by the inclined dome effectsmovement of the fabrics toward the front of the basket wherein they areagain elevated by the vanes. the fabrics and the scrubbi-ng actionprovided by the dome effectively removes soils from the When the washingoperation is completed, the body of water is removed from the tub I0.Slow speed rotation of the basket is continued and the fabrics areelevated and dropped, as described heretofore, fora period of timeduring which they collect in the annular region, indicated by thenumeral 35, or in the region of the basket of minimum diameter. In theabsence of water, the fabrics that descend from the dome 34 tend tocling to the surface thereof so that, at this time, the fabrics willgather as anannulus in the region 35 of the basket. The two-speedmachanism of the washer is then adjusted to its high speed position,and, during acceleration. the fabrics move outwardly toward the basketregion The position assumed by the annular bundle of fabrics during thehigh speed centrifuging operation is indicated by the broken line B.During both the washing and centrifuging operations, the fabrics aremoved within the basket structure in a region thereof extendingsubstantially from the dome 34 to the forward end o f the vanes 33. Abasket and vane structure of the type disclosed herein is described andclaimed in my copending application, Serial No. 268,103, filed April 15,1939, and assigned to the assignee of the-present application.

The construction of my improved water-admission mechanism will now bedescribed in detail. As shown, the'water-admitting conduit portion 24 issecured to the tub III by means of a hose clamp 24a rigidly secured tothe tub. A metal conduit 24h extends intoy the conduit 23 and is securedby the clamp 24a. The conduit 24h extends through a portion of the endwall II of the tub I0 and the inner or'discharge end of the'conduit 24his formed as an oval when viewed in cross section, as shown at 36. Thewater-projecting device includes-a, b'ody portion 31 which is v wrappedaround the ovaled end of the conduit 24h and suitably secured thereto.Support for the water-projectingl device 25 is providedfor by a pair oflaterally-extending brackets 38 preferably formed integral with the bodyportion 31 and se- This agitation of The portion of thegprojectingdevice 25 which is employed for directing the water discharged by theconduit 24 is defined by a lip 39, the latter being effective to directthe water in a diverging sheetformation as described hereinafter. 'I'hedischarge end of the lip 39 is disposed within or adjacent to the accessopening I5 of the basket so that the water discharged thereby passesthrough the opening I5 into the interior of the basket. 1

As shown in the drawings, the lip 33 is so disposed that it directs thesheet of water toward the conical side walls of the basket I4 in a planeangularly disposed with respect to the axis of the basket. Accordingly,the line of engagement of the sheet of water with the basket side wallsextends generally from the dome or end wall 34 toward the end wall I6and also throughout an arcuate portion of the basket. The sheet of waterintersects that portion of the basket sidev walls which encompasses thefabrics during both the washing, accelerating and duid-extractingperiods, so that all portions of the fabrics. during their rotation, areengaged by the diverging sheet of water and are eectively rinsed. Thisform of rinsing' may be carried out during both tumbling of the fabricsand high speed rotation or spinning thereof. I consider this animportant feature of my invention as, lint or soap scum is effectivelywashed from all portions of the fabrics whether they are being tumbledwithin the basket at low speed, as described heretofore, or whether theyare centrifuged at high speed. The plane of the sheet of water will bedetermined by the specific form of washer employed. It will be apparentthat the plane of the sheet of water may be varied by changing theposition of the lip 39 relative the basket side walls or by varying theformation of the lip 33. y

I have found that a projecting device constructed as shown at 25,effectively provides a thin sheet of water which is maintainedsubstantially intact by its surface tension from the lip 39 until itengages the body of fabrics. 'I'he velocity of the projected water will,of course, depend upon the pressure available and, in this connection, Ihave found that my improved projecting device 25 eifectively dischargesthe water as described with water pressures varying between 15 lbs. persq. in. and 175 lbs. per sq. in. The projecting device which I employdefines an improvement over other forms of sprayers or nozzles of whichI am aware, in that it is free from clogging. When a restricting typenozzle is used, it is difficult to maintain a uniform spray because ofdeposits of solids, present in most water, in the nozzle passage.

'I'he column of water emitted throughV the conduit 24 is elongated andflattened as it passes throughthe ovaled portion 36 of the conduit inorder to facilitate its conversion into a sheet formation by the lip 33.The column of water attened by the oval discharge passage is fanned outinto a diverging sheet as it leaves the lip 39. Accordingly, the sheetof water passing through the basket diverges towards the side walls andbecomes thinner and wider as it traverses the space within the basket.

The tub structure III and its associated elements are disposed within a.housing or casing 4I which includes a front wall having a portion 42inclined in a plane normal to the axis of the tub.

An access opening 43 is formed in the' wall porcured as by welding tothe end wall II of the tub.

tion 42 and is closed by a hinged door 44 during inactive periods of theapparatus. The tub I0 and -he elements carried thereby may be supportedvithin the casing 4| in any suitable manner. I vlave omitted a showingof the support for the tub Si), for the sake of brevity and clearness,as it forms no part of the present invention.

F'roml the foregoing description, it will be apparent'that I haveprovided improved means for admitting water to the washing receptacle ofalaundry machine which may be eiectively einu ployed for providing animproved spray rinse. All portions of the fabrics being treated aresubjected to the projected water sheet during vtumbling of the fabricsand during the centrifuging thereoL, at which time the fabrics arebundled as an annular ring within a predetermined region of the basketside walls. Furthermore, after the washing operations are completed,thebasket and tub may be effectively cleansed by v projecting the sheetof water within the basket as the latter is rotated. The water scoursthe` inside of the basket and is carried centrifugally through thebasket perforations into engagement with the tub for cleaning the innersurface there# of. The outer surface of the basket is cleaned by' waterdeflected from the tub and by dipping in the body of water in the bottomof the tub.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various changes and modications without departing from the spiritthereof, and I desire, therefore.

that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon asare specificallyset forth in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a machine for washing fabrics, the combination of a tub forcontaining a body of washing water and having an access opening in oneend thereof, a rotatable periorate basket disposed within the tub andhaving its axis of rotation di..- posed at an acute angle from theverticalfsaidbasket including upper front and lower rear end walls and aside wall generally circular in cross section and connecting the endwalls, said side wall diverging from the end wallsand dening a region ofthe basket of relatively large diameter intermediate .the end'walls`thereof, said upper' front end wall having 'an access opening thereinregistering substantially with the access opening of the tub, and meansfor admitting water to the tub and including a nozzle carried by lthetub and spaced radially outwardlyfrom an upper portion of the accessopening thereof, said nozzle being disposed above a portion of the sidewall of the basket and arrangedto direct water downwardly through theaccess opening of the basket

